Unveiled a Wall of Dignity at Bleiker School

Inspired by Bjørnholt Upper Secondary School in Oslo, Bleiker School has created its own exhibition wall, a Wall of Dignity, which was unveiled during the visit.

Pupils use the wall to share stories from their own experience with dignity, inclusion and caring for others.

Gathering at Skaugum Estate

Some 200 pupils and teachers attended the Global Dignity celebration in the school cafeteria.

Pupils Tonje Vettre and Afsaneh Ramezani shared their own stories about dignity. Pekka Himanen and Raaida Mannaa, the Global Dignity Country Chairs of Finland and Colombia respectively, also shared their thoughts and stories with the pupils.

Mr Himanen and Ms Mannaa are participating in a two-day Global Dignity meeting at Skaugum Estate, the residence of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, which will be concluded this afternoon. Twenty of a total of 46 Country Chairs are in attendance, including representatives from the Philippines, Australia, Canada, France, Jordan and Tanzania.

Global Dignity

The Crown Prince is one of the founders of the Global Dignity initiative, which promotes dignity-centred leadership, fosters global dialogue on dignity and engages young people in discussion about the meaning and importance of dignity.

The main activity of the Global Dignity initiative is to organise what are known as Dignity Day events at schools. The events are a two-hour course during which pupils explore the concept of dignity in small groups and share their stories of dignity and of how they have strengthened the dignity of others.

Dignity-oriented activities at Bleiker School

Global Dignity Day will be observed on 15 October 2014, for the fifth consecutive year, by upper secondary schools all over Norway. Having experienced the impact of the Dignity Day event, the Bleiker School administration decided to put dignity in focus throughout the entire year.

In light of their reflections about and work with the concept of dignity, the pupils have helped to organise various activities during the school year. The pupils’ understanding of dignity revolves mainly around caring for one another, acknowledging individuals for who they are, and being inclusive in day-to-day activities. The school has involved pupils in the ongoing efforts to enhance the school and learning environment. The school also achieved good results in the pupil survey in autumn 2013, showing high marks for student satisfaction and motivation and a low level of bullying.

Some 300 000 young people in more than 50 countries participated in Global Dignity Day events last year.